Big Changes Coming With the 8.6 Update

NOTE: The statistical theory behind some of the explanations below has been simplified to make the article accessible to all. For those mathematicians in the audience - please do not judge us too severely.

Tankers!

Today we're peeling back the curtain on some of the major changes coming in the 8.6 Update, shared to us by Michael Jivetc, Producer on World of Tanks. Read below for more information.

Changes to Gun Accuracy

In our opinion this is one of the most significant changes that we are bringing to the game since 0.8.0.

For those who might be interested, here's the statistical theory behind the mechanic. In game, we currently use the normal (Gauss) distribution to calculate the values for shot dispersion. However, a limit for shot distribution has to exist, so all extreme values are restricted to the edge of the aiming circle. In simple terms, the limits for the most inaccurate gun would still be the limits of the aiming circle.

Currently, in Version 8.5, we have a 1.3 sigma set as a limit. This means that approximately 19.4% of shots will land at the edge of the aiming circle. There were good reasons which this limit was chosen back in 2010, but the game has developed since then and we are ready to move on.

For the 8.6 Update, we have decided to change the distribution model used for accuracy calculations, by increasing the limit to 2-sigma. This means that now only 4.6% of shots will land at the edge of the aiming circle. That’s nearly 4 times less than under the old model!

We have also decided that the spike on the edge of distribution is no longer required, so the landing points for shells will be distributed equally from the center to the edge of the aiming circle. This means that overall there will be much fewer shots landing directly on the limit of the aiming circle. In other words, the shots will be more evenly distributed throughout the aiming circle.

How Will it Affect the Gameplay?

It means that the accuracy of all guns will greatly increase. Players will notice much fewer shells falling on the edge of aiming circle; in fact such shots will become incredibly rare. We are decreasing the influence of random factors in-game, which means a corresponding increase in the value of player skill.

These changes will apply to all tanks and tank destroyers in the game. We have decided not to apply these accuracy changes to SPGs as it could potentially damage gameplay too much. The change will be compensated for by a slight increase in shell dispersion. If you've already seen leaked information about the 0.8.6 Update SPG characteristics, please do not worry. It's not a nerf, just measures to avoid "over-buff." The overall accuracy of SPGs will be pretty much the same, just more predictable.

New Mechanics for HEAT Shells

Currently, the way the mechanics work means that the effect of HEAT shells is barely different to normal Armor-Piercing shells. To increase the difference between them, and also to decrease the influence of HEAT shells on gameplay, we have decided to change their mechanics in the 8.6 Update to make them more realistic:

HEAT shells will start to ricochet if the impact angle is greater than 80 degrees. Please note that every shell can have slightly different settings. The armor penetration after ricochet will remain the same.

After penetration, a HEAT shell cannot ricochet inside the tank as the shell is transformed into a continuous stream.

After penetration, the HEAT shell will lose 5% of armor penetration force for each 10cm of travelling distance

After penetration, the force with which the HEAT shell continues to travel through the armor will take into account the angle of impact between the armor and penetration spot.

Overall, these changes mean that HEAT shells will now have ricochets instead of penetrations with 0 damage and less armor penetration values when it meets spaced armor (Maus drivers will love this change). Also of note, the tracks of a vehicle will also count as spaced armor for HEAT shells.

New Mechanics for Camouflage

Currently, camouflage patterns and camouflage net values work as multipliers in the overall camouflage calculation formula. So if the base camouflage values for a particular tank are low, the provided advantage from the both devices will also be close to zero.

We have decided to change this. From now on, the values for vehicles and camo devices will be cumulative. This means that now the camouflage net and camouflage pattern will provide fixed bonuses which will only differ based on the class of the vehicle. For example, TD's will receive the highest bonus.

To avoid side-effects with having nearly invisible TD's, it was decided to decrease the overall camouflage bonuses provided by bushes and fallen trees.

Changes to Credits and Experience Received in Battles

Currently TDs and SPGs receive penalties on the amount of experience points they receive per battle. TDs currently receive 33% less XP, while SPGs receive 50% less than regular tanks.

In the 8.6 Update, we will remove these penalties. This means that TDs and SPGs will receive much more XP per battle.

We will also add an assistance bonus for keeping enemies tracked. If you track an enemy and your allies then damage it or even destroy it, you will receive a bonus in credits and XP. The mechanics will be similar to the way the bonus for spotting currently works.